CHAPTER I
Democracy in the Contemporary World

Democracy is a form of government that allows people to choose their rulers.

In a democracy-

• Only leaders elected by people should rule the country, and
• People have the freedom to express views, freedom to organise and freedom to protest.

PHASES IN THE EXPANSION OF DEMOCRACY

French Revolution (1789)

• French Revolution inspired many struggles for democracy all over Europe
• The right to vote was granted to more and more people

American Revolution-

British colonies in North America declared themselves independent in 1776

• In the next few years these colonies came together to form the United States of America.
• Adopted a democratic constitution in 1787.
• 19^th century struggles for democracy often centred round political equality, freedom and justice
• Challenge- right for every adult citizen to vote; Often women did not have the right to vote.
• In USA, the blacks all over the country could not exercise the right to vote until 1965.
• Those struggling for democracy wanted this right granted universally to all adults — men or women, rich or poor, white or black.
• This is called ‘universal adult franchise’ or ‘universel suffrage’.

End of Colonialism

• For a very long time most countries in Asia and Africa was colonies under the control of European nations.
• Many of these countries became democracies immediately after the end of WW2 in 1945.
• India got Independence- 1947
• Ghana used to be a British colony named Gold Coast.(Independent- 1957)

Recent phase

• 1980- democracy was revived in several countries of Latin America
• Poland and several other countries became free from the control of the Soviet Union during 1989-90.
• Soviet Union itself broke down in 1991. The Soviet Union comprised 15 Republics
• Pakistan and Bangladesh made a transition from army rule to democracy in 1990s
• In 2008, Pakistan became democratic again and Nepal emerged as a democratic republic after abolishing the monarchy.

Story of Myanmar-

• Myanmar, previously known as Burma.
• Gained freedom from colonial rule in 1948 and became a democracy.
• But the democratic rule ended in 1962 with a military coup.
• In 1990 elections were held for the first time after almost 30 years.
• The National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Aung San Suu Kyi (pronounced Soo-chi), won the election.
• But the military leaders of Myanmar refused to step down and did not recognise the election results.
• Instead, the military put the elected pro-democracy leaders, including Suu Kyi, under house arrest.
• Anyone caught publicly airing views or issuing statements critical of the regime can be sentenced up to twenty years in prison.
• Due to the coercive policies of the military-ruled government in Myanmar, about 6 to 10 lakh people in that country have been uprooted from their homes and have taken shelter elsewhere.
• Despite being under house arrest, Suu Kyi continued to campaign for democracy.
• Finally, under her leadership, the NLD fought the historic 2015 elections and a democratic republic was established.

CHAPTER 2
What is Democracy? Why Democracy?

Democracy is based on a fundamental principle of political equality.

That gives us the third feature of democracy: in a democracy, each adult citizen must have one vote and each vote must have one value.

One person, One vote, One value-

• Until 2015, in Saudi Arabia women did not have the right to vote.
• Estonia has made its citizenship rules in such a way that people belonging to Russian minority find it difficult to get the right to vote.
• In Fiji, the electoral system is such that the vote of an indigenous Fiji has more value than that of an Indian-Fijian.

Merits of Democracy

1. A democratic government is better form of government because it is more accountable form of government.
2. Democracy improves the quality of decision making.
3. Democracy enhances the dignity of citizens.
4. Poor and least educated has the same status as the rich and educated.
5. Democracy allows us to correct our own mistake
6. A democracy requires that the rulers have to attend to the needs of the people.
7. A democratic government is a better government because it is a more accountable form of government

Arguments against democracy

1. Leaders keep changing in a democracy. This leads to instability.
2. Democracy is all about political competition and power play. There is no scope for morality.
3. So many people have to be consulted in a democracy that it leads to delays.
4. Elected leaders do not know the best interest of the people. It leads to bad decisions.
5. Democracy leads to corruption for it is based on electoral competition.
6. Ordinary people don’t know what is good for them; they should not decide anything.

Arguments for democracy

• China’s famine- 1958-1961- ~ 3crore people died in this famine.
• During those days, India’s economic condition was not much better than China.
• Yet India did not have a famine of the kind China had.
• Economists think that this was a result of different government policies in the two countries.
• The existence of democracy in India made the Indian government respond to food scarcity in a way that the Chinese government did not.
• They point out that no large-scale famine has ever taken place in an independent and democratic country.
• If China too had multiparty elections, an opposition party and a press free to criticise the government, then so many people may not have died in the famine

Rule of law and respect for rights

• Zimbabwe attained independence from White minority rule in 1980.
• Since then the country has been ruled by ZANU-PF, the party that led the freedom struggle. Its leader,
• Robert Mugabe ruled the country since independence.
• Elections were held regularly and always won by ZANU-PF. President Mugabe was popular but also used unfair practices in elections.
• Over the years his government changed the constitution several times to increase the powers of the President and make him less accountable.
• Opposition party workers were harassed and their meeting disrupted.
• Public protests and demonstrations against the government were declared illegal.
• There was a law that limited the right to criticise the President.
• Television and radio were controlled by the government and gave only the ruling party’s version.
• There were independent newspapers but the government harassed those journalists who went against it.
• The government ignored some court judgments that went against it and pressurised judges. He was forced out of office in 2017.

Why democracy should lead to better decisions than any non-democratic government?

• Democracy is based on consultation and discussion.
• A democratic decision always involves many persons, discussions and meetings.
• When a number of people put their heads together, they are able to point out possible mistakes in any decision. This takes time.
• It reduces the chances of rash or irresponsible decisions.
• Thus democracy improves the quality of decision-making.
• Democracy provides a method to deal with differences and conflicts.
• In any society people are bound to have differences of opinions and interests.
• These differences are particularly sharp in a country like ours which has an amazing social diversity.
• People belong to different regions, speak different languages, practise different religions and have different castes.
• They look at the world very differently and have different preferences.
• The preferences of one group can clash with those of other groups. The conflict can be solved by brutal power.
• Whichever group is more powerful will dictate its terms and others will have to accept that.
• But that would lead to resentment and unhappiness.
• Different groups may not be able to live together for long in such a way.
• Democracy provides the only peaceful solution to this problem.
• Democracy enhances the dignity of citizens.
• Finally, democracy is better than other forms of government because it allows us to correct its own mistakes.
• It offers better chances of a good decision; it is likely to respect people’s own wishes and allows different kinds of people to live together.
• Even when it fails to do some of these things, it allows a way of correcting its mistakes and offers more dignity to all citizens.
• That is why democracy is considered the best form of government.

CHAPTER 3
CONSTITUTIONAL DESIGN

DEMOCRATIC CONSTITUTION IN SOUTH AFRICA-

This was Nelson Mandela, being tried for treason by the white South African government.

He and seven other leaders were sentenced to life imprisonment in 1964 for daring to oppose the apartheid regime in his country.

Struggle against apartheid

• Apartheid was the name of a system of racial discrimination unique to South Africa.
• The white Europeans imposed this system on South Africa.
• During 17^th& 18^th centuries, the trading companies from Europe occupied it with arms and force, in the way they occupied India.
• But unlike India, a large number of ‘whites’ had settled in South Africa and became the local rulers.
• The system of apartheid divided the people and labelled them on the basis of their skin colour.
• The native people of South Africa are black in colour.
• They made up about three-fourth of the population and were called ‘blacks’.
• Besides these two groups, there were people of mixed races who were called ‘coloured’ and people who migrated from India.
• The white rulers treated all non- whites as inferiors. The non-whites did not have voting rights.
• The apartheid system was particularly oppressive for the blacks. They were forbidden from living in white areas.
• They could work in white areas only if they had a permit.
• Trains, buses, taxis, hotels, hospitals, schools and colleges, libraries, cinema halls, theatres, beaches, swimming pools, public toilets, were all separate for the whites and blacks. This was called segregation.
• They could not even visit the churches where the whites worshipped.
• Blacks could not form associations or protest against the terrible treatment.
• Since 1950, the blacks coloured and Indians fought against the apartheid system.
• They launched protest marches and strikes.
• The African National Congress (ANC) was the umbrella organisation that led the struggle against the policies of segregation.
• This included many workers’ unions and the Communist Party.
• Many sensitive whites also joined the ANC to oppose apartheid and played a leading role in this struggle.
• Several countries denounced apartheid as unjust and racist.
• But the white racist government continued to rule by detaining, torturing and killing thousands of black and coloured people

Towards a new constitution

• As protests and struggles against apartheid had increased, the government realised that they could no longer keep the blacks under their rule through repression.
• The white regime changed its policies.
• Discriminatory laws were repealed.
• Ban on political parties and restrictions on the media were lifted.
• After 28 years of imprisonment, Nelson Mandela walked out of the jail as a free man.
• Finally, at the midnight of 26 April 1994, the new national flag of the Republic of South Africa was unfurled marking the newly born democracy in the world.
• The apartheid government came to an end, paving way for the formation of a multi-racial government.
• After the emergence of the new democratic South Africa, black leaders appealed to fellow blacks to forgive the whites for the atrocities they had committed while in power.
• The party that ruled through oppression and brutal killings and the party that led the freedom struggle sat together to draw up a common constitution.
• After two years of discussion and debate they came out with one of the finest constitutions the world has ever had.
• This constitution gave to its citizens the most extensive rights available in any country.
• Together, they decided that in the search for a solution to the problems, nobody should be excluded; no one should be treated as a demon.
• They agreed that everybody should become part of the solution, whatever they might have done or represented in the past.
• The preamble to the South African Constitution sums up this spirit.
• The South African constitution inspires democrats all over the world.

Why we need a Constitution?

• The South African example is a good way to understand why we need a constitution and what do constitutions do.  
• The oppressor and the oppressed in this new democracy were planning to live together as equals.
• The black majority was keen to ensure that the democratic principle of majority rule was not compromised. ‘
• They wanted substantial social and economic rights.
• The white minority was keen to protect its privileges and property.
• After long negotiations both parties agreed to a compromise.
• The whites agreed to the principle of majority rule and that of one person one vote.
• They also agreed to accept some basic rights for the poor and the workers.
• The blacks agreed that majority rule would not be absolute.
• They agreed that the majority would not take away the property of the white minority.
• The only way to build and maintain trust in such a situation is to write down some rules of the game that everyone would abide by.
• These rules lay down how the rulers are to be chosen in future.
• These rules also determine what the elected governments are empowered to do and what they cannot do.
• Finally these rules decide the rights of the citizen.
• These rules will work only if the winner cannot change them very easily.
• This is what the South Africans did. They agreed on some basic rules.
• They also agreed that these rules will be supreme, that no government will be able to ignore these.
• This set of basic rules is called a constitution.
• Every country has diverse groups of people.
• All over the world people have differences of opinion and interests.
• Whether democratic or not, most countries in the world need to have these basic rules.
• This applies not just to governments.
• Any association needs to have its constitution.
• Constitution of a country is a set of written rules that are accepted by all people living together in a country.
• Constitution is the supreme law that determines the relationship among people living in a territory (called citizens) and also the relationship between the people and government.

A constitution does many things:

1. First, it generates a degree of trust and coordination that is necessary for different kind of people to live together;
2. Second, it specifies how the government will be constituted, who will have power to take which decisions;
3. Third, it lays down limits on the powers of the government and tells us what the rights of the citizens are; and
4. Fourth, it expresses the aspirations of the people about creating a good society
5. All countries that have constitutions are not necessarily democratic.
6. But all countries that are democratic will have constitutions.
7. After the War of Independence against Great Britain, the Americans gave themselves a constitution.
8. After the Revolution, the French people approved a democratic constitution.
9. Since then it has become a practice in all democracies to have a written constitution.

MAKING OF THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION

• At that time the people of India were emerging from the status of subjects to that of citizens.
• The country was born through a partition on the basis of religious differences.
• The British had left it to the rulers of the princely states to decide whether they wanted to merge with India or with Pakistan or remain independent.
• The merger of these princely states was a difficult and uncertain task.
• The makers of the constitution had anxieties about the present and the future of the country.

The path to Constitution

• Our national movement was not merely a struggle against a foreign rule.
• It was also a struggle to rejuvenate our country and to transform our society and politics.
• There were sharp differences of opinion within the freedom struggle about the path India should take after Independence.
• As far back as in 1928, Motilal Nehru and eight other Congress leaders drafted a constitution for India.
• In 1931, the resolution at the Karachi session of the Indian National Congress dwelt on how independent India’s constitution should look like.
• Both these documents were committed to the inclusion of universal adult franchise, right to freedom and equality and to protecting the rights of minorities in the constitution of independent India.
• Thus some basic values were accepted by all leaders much before the Constituent Assembly met to deliberate on the Constitution.
• The British rule had given voting rights only to a few.
• Elections were held in 1937 to Provincial Legislatures and Ministries all over British India.
• These were not fully democratic governments.
• But the experience gained by Indians in the working of the legislative institutions proved to be very useful for the country in setting up its own institutions and working in them.
• That is why the Indian constitution adopted many institutional details and procedures from colonial laws like the Government of India Act, 1935.
• Many of our leaders were inspired by the ideals of French Revolution, the practice of parliamentary democracy in Britain and the Bill of Rights in the US.
• The socialist revolution in Russia had inspired many Indians to think of shaping a system based on social and economic equality.

The Constituent Assembly

• The drafting of the document called the constitution was done by an assembly of elected representatives called the Constituent Assembly.
• Elections to the Constituent Assembly were held in July 1946.
• First meeting was held in December 1946.
• Soon after, the country was divided into India and Pakistan.
• The Constituent Assembly was also divided into the Constituent Assembly of India and that of Pakistan.
• The Constituent Assembly that wrote the Indian constitution had 299 members.
• The Assembly adopted the Constitution on 26 November 1949 but it came into effect on 26 January 1950.
• To mark this day we celebrate January 26 as Republic Day every year.
• Constituent Assembly represented the people of India.
• There was no universal adult franchise at that time.
• So the Constituent Assembly could not have been chosen directly by all the people of India.
• It was elected mainly by the members of the existing Provincial Legislatures that we mentioned above.
• This ensured a fair geographical share of members from all the regions of the country.
• The Assembly was dominated by the Indian National Congress, the party that led India’s freedom struggle.
• But the Congress itself included a variety of political groups and opinions.
• The Assembly had many members who did not agree with the Congress.
• In social terms too, the Assembly represented members from different language groups, castes, classes, religions and occupations.
• Drafting Committee- Dr. B.R. Ambedkar
• More than two thousand amendments were considered.
• The members deliberated for 114 days spread over three years.

Philosophy of the Constitution

• Values that inspired and guided the freedom struggle and were in turn nurtured by it, formed the foundation for India’s democracy.
• These values are embedded in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution.
• They guide all the articles of the Indian Constitution.
• The Constitution begins with a short statement of its basic values. This is called the Preamble to the constitution.
• Taking inspiration from American model, most countries in the contemporary world have chosen to begin their constitutions with a preamble.

Preamble

WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA

The constitution has been drawn up and enacted by the people through their representatives, and not handed down to them by a king or any outside powers

SOVEREIGN

• People have supreme right to make decisions on internal as well as external matters.
• No external power can dictate the government of India.

SOCIALIST

• Wealth is generated socially and should be shared equally by society.
• Government should regulate the ownership of land and industry to reduce socio-economic inequalities

SECULAR

• Citizens have complete freedom to follow any religion.
• But there is no official religion.
• Government treats all religious beliefs and practices with equal respect.

DEMOCRATIC

• A form of government where people enjoy equal political rights, elect their rulers and hold them accountable.
• The government is run according to some basic rules.

REPUBLIC

The head of the state is an elected person and not a hereditary position.

JUSTICE

• Citizens cannot be discriminated on the grounds of caste, religion and gender.
• Social inequalities have to be reduced.
• Government should work for the welfare of all, especially of the disadvantaged groups.

LIBERTY

There are no unreasonable restrictions on the citizens in what they think; how they wish to express their thoughts and the way they wish to follow up their thoughts in action.

EQUALITY

• All are equal before the law.
• The traditional social inequalities have to be ended.
• The government should ensure equal opportunity for all.

FRATERNITY

• All of us should behave as if we are members of the same family.
• No one should treat a fellow citizen as inferior

Institutional design

• A constitution is mainly about embodying these values into institutional arrangements.
• It is a very long and detailed document.
• Therefore it needs to be amended quite regularly to keep it updated. Those who crafted the Indian Constitution felt that it has to be in accordance with people’s aspirations and changes in society.
• They made provisions to incorporate changes from time to time.
• These changes are called constitutional amendments.
• The Constitution describes the institutional arrangements in a very legal language.
• It puts limits to what the government can do by providing some rights to the citizen that cannot be violated.

CHAPTER 4
Electoral Politics

• There is a requirement of mechanism by which people can choose their representatives at regular intervals and change them if they wish to do so.
• This mechanism is called election.
• Therefore, elections are considered essential in our times for any representative democracy.

A simple list of the minimum conditions of a democratic election:

1. First, everyone should be able to choose. This means that everyone should have one vote and every vote should have equal value.
2. Second, there should be something to choose from. Parties and candidates should be free to contest elections and should offer some real choice to the voters.
3. Third, the choice should be offered at regular intervals. Elections must be held regularly after every few years.
4. Fourth, the candidate preferred by the people should get elected.
5. Fifth, elections should be conducted in a free and fair manner where people can choose as they really wish.

In an election the voters make many choices:

• They can choose who will make laws for them.
• They can choose who will form the government and take major decisions.
• They can choose the party whose policies will guide the government and law making.

WHAT IS OUR SYSTEM OF ELECTIONS?

• Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha (Assembly) elections are held regularly after every five years.
• After five years the term of all the elected representatives comes to an end.
• The Lok Sabha or Vidhan Sabha stands ‘dissolved’.
• Elections are held in all constituencies at the same time, either on the same day or within a few days.
• This is called a general election.
• Sometimes election is held only for one constituency to fill the vacancy caused by death or resignation of a member.
• This is called a by-election.

Electoral constituencies

• In our country we follow an area based system of representation.
• The country is divided into different areas for purposes of elections.
• These areas are called electoral constituencies.
• The voters who live in an area elect one representative.
• For Lok Sabha elections, the country is divided into 543 constituencies.
• The representative elected from each constituency is called a Member of Parliament or an MP.
• One of the features of a democratic election is that every vote should have equal value.
• Similarly, each state is divided into a specific number of Assembly constituencies.
• In this case, the elected representative is called the Member of Legislative Assembly or an MLA.
• Each Parliamentary constituency has within it several assembly constituencies.
• The same principle applies for Panchayat and Municipal elections.
• Each village or town is divided into several ‘wards’ that are like constituencies.
• Each ward elects one member of the village or the urban local body.
• Sometimes these constituencies are counted as ‘seats’, for each constituency represents one seat in the assembly.

Reserved Constituencies

• Some constituencies are reserved for people who belong to the Scheduled Castes [SC] and Scheduled Tribes [ST].
• In a SC reserved constituency only someone who belongs to the Scheduled Castes can stand for election.
• Similarly only those belonging to the Scheduled Tribes can contest an election from a constituency reserved for ST.
• Currently, in the Lok Sabha, 84 seats are reserved for the Scheduled Castes and 47 for the Scheduled Tribes (as on 1 September 2012).
• This number is in proportion to their share in the total population.
• Thus the reserved seats for SC and ST do not take away the legitimate share of any other social group.
• This system of reservation was extended later to other weaker sections at the district and local level.
• In many states, seats in rural (Panchayat) and urban (municipalities and corporations) local bodies are now reserved for Other Backward Classes (OBC) as well.
• However, the proportion of seats reserved varies from state to state.
• Similarly, one-third of the seats are reserved in rural and urban local bodies for women candidates.

Voters’ list

• In a democratic election, the list of those who are eligible to vote is prepared much before the election and given to everyone.
• This list is officially called the Electoral Roll and is commonly known as the Voters’ List.
• Purpose- everyone should get an equal opportunity to choose representatives.
• Principle of universal adult franchise- In practice it means that everyone should have one vote and each vote should have equal value.
• In our country, all the citizens aged 18 years and above can vote in an election.
• Some criminals and persons with unsound mind can be denied the right to vote, but only in rare situations.

LOK SABHA CONSTITUENCIES

1. TOTAL CONSTITUENCIES 543
2. GENERAL 412
3. RESERVED (SC) 84
4. RESERVED (ST) 47

• In the last few years a new system of Election Photo Identity Card [EPIC] has been introduced.
• The government has tried to give this card to every person on the voters list.
• The voters are required to carry this card when they go out to vote, so that no one can vote for someone else.
• But the card is not yet compulsory for voting.
• For voting, the voters can show many other proofs of identity like the ration card or the driving licence.

Nomination of candidates

• Anyone who can be a voter can also become a candidate in elections.
• minimum age- 25 years
• There are some other restrictions on criminals etc.
• Political parties nominate their candidates who get the party symbol and support.
• Party’s nomination is often called party ‘ticket’.
• Every person who wishes to contest an election has to fill a ‘nomination form’ and give some money as ‘security deposit’.
• Recently, a new system of declaration has been introduced on direction from the Supreme Court.

Every candidate has to make a legal declaration, giving full details of:

1. Serious criminal cases pending against the candidate;
2. Details of the assets and liabilities of the candidate and his or her family; and
3. Education qualifications of the candidate. This information has to be made public.
4. This provides an opportunity to the voters to make their decision on the basis of the information provided by the candidates.

Election Campaign

• In our country such campaigns take place for a two-week period between the announcement of the final list of candidates and the date of polling.
• During this period the candidates contact their voters, political leaders address election meetings and political parties mobilise their supporters.
• This is also the period when newspapers and television news are full of election related stories and debates.
• But election campaign is not limited to these two weeks only.
• Political parties start preparing for elections months before they actually take place.
• In election campaigns, political parties try to focus public attention on some big issues.
• They want to attract the public to that issue and get them to vote for their party on that basis.

According to our election law, no party or candidate can:

1. Bribe or threaten voters;
2. Appeal to them in the name of caste or religion;
3. Use government resources for election campaign; and
4. Spend more than Rs. 25 lakh in a constituency for a Lok Sabha election or Rs. 10 lakh in a constituency in an Assembly election.
5. In addition to the laws, all the political parties in our country have agreed to a Model Code of Conduct for election campaigns.

According to this, no party or candidate can:

• Use any place of worship for election propaganda;
• Use government vehicles, aircrafts and officials for elections; and
• Once elections are announced, Ministers shall not lay foundation stones of any projects, take any big policy decisions or make any promises of providing public facilities.

Polling and counting of votes

• The final stage of an election is the day when the voters cast or ‘poll’ their vote.
• That day is usually called the election day.
• Every person whose name is on the voters’ list can go to a nearby ‘polling booth’, situated usually in a local school or a government office.
• Nowadays electronic voting machines (EVM) are used to record votes.
• The machine shows the names of the candidates and the party symbols.

Demerits of electoral competition

• It creates a sense of disunity and ‘factionalism’ in every locality.
• Different political parties and leaders often level allegations against one another.
• Parties and candidates often use dirty tricks to win elections.
• Some people say that this pressure to win electoral fights does not allow sensible long-term policies to be formulated.

Let us look at some of the successful slogans given by different political parties in various elections.

The Congress party led by Indira Gandhi gave the slogan of Garibi Hatao (Remove poverty) in the Lok Sabha elections of 1971. The party promised to reorient all the policies of the government to remove poverty from the country.

Save Democracy was the slogan given by Janata Party under the leadership of Jayaprakash Narayan, in the Lok Sabha election held in 1977. The party promised to undo the excesses committed during Emergency and restore civil liberties.

The Left Front used the slogan of Land to the Tiller in the West Bengal Assembly elections held in 1977. ‘Protect the Self-Respect of the Telugus’ was the slogan used by N. T. Rama Rao, the leader of the Telugu Desam Party in Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections in 1983.

In a democracy it is best to leave political parties and candidates free to conduct their election campaigns the way they want to. But it is sometimes necessary to regulate campaigns to ensure that every political party and candidate gets a fair and equal chance to compete.

Independent Election Commission

• The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) is appointed by the President of India.
• But once appointed, the Chief Election Commissioner is not answerable to the President or the government.
• Even if the ruling party or the government does not like what the Commission does, it is virtually impossible for it to remove the CEC.
• EC takes decisions on every aspect of conduct and control of elections from the announcement of elections to the declaration of results.
• It implements the Code of Conduct and punishes any candidate or party that violates it.
• During the election period, the EC can order the government to follow some guidelines, to prevent use and misuse of governmental power to enhance its chances to win elections, or to transfer some government officials.
• When on election duty, government officers work under the control of the EC and not the government.

Challenges to free and fair elections

• A few candidates may win purely on the basis of money power and unfair means.
• But the overall verdict of a general election still reflects popular preference.
• There are very few exceptions to this rule in the last fifty years in our country.
• In some parts of the country, candidates with criminal connection have been able to push others out of the electoral race and to secure a ‘ticket’ from major parties.
• Some families tend to dominate political parties; tickets are distributed to relatives from these families.
• Very often elections offer little choice to ordinary citizens, for both the major parties are quite similar to each other both in policies and practice.
• Smaller parties and independent candidates suffer a huge disadvantage compared to bigger parties.

CHAPTER 5
Working of Institutions

Need for Political Institutions

• To attend to all the tasks, several arrangements are made in all modern democracies. Such arrangements are called institutions.
• A democracy works well when these institutions perform functions assigned to them.
• The Constitution of any country lays down basic rules on the powers and functions of each institution. In the example above we saw several such institutions at work.
• The Prime Minister and the Cabinet are institutions that take all important policy decisions.
• The Civil Servants, working together, are responsible for taking steps to implement the ministers’ decisions.
• Supreme Court is an institution where disputes between citizens and the government are finally settled.

HOW IS A MAJOR POLICY DECISION TAKEN?

• A Government Order On August 13, 1990, the Government of India issued an Order. It was called an Office Memorandum.
• The Joint Secretary, an officer in the Department of Personnel and Training in the Ministry ofPersonnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, signed the Order.
• The order said that 27 per cent of the vacancies in civil posts and services under the Government of India are reserved for the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC).
• SEBC is another name for all those people who belong to castes that are considered backward by the government.
• The benefit of job reservation was till then available only to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
• Now a new third category called SEBC was introduced.
• Only persons who belong to backward classes were eligible for this quota of 27 per cent jobs.
• President is the head of the state
• Prime Minister is the head of the government and actually exercises all governmental powers.
• He takes most of the decisions in the Cabinet meetings.

Parliament

Why do we need a Parliament?

• In all democracies, an assembly of elected representatives exercises supreme political authority on behalf of the people.
• In India such a national assembly of elected representatives is called Parliament.
• At the state level this is called Legislature or Legislative Assembly.
• The name may vary in different countries, but such an assembly exists in every democracy.

It exercises political authority on behalf of the people in many ways:

• Parliament is the final authority for making laws in any country.
• Parliaments all over the world can make new laws, change existing laws, or abolish existing laws and make new ones in their place.
• Parliaments all over the world exercise some control over those who run the government.
• Parliaments control all the money that governments have.
• Parliament is the highest forum of discussion and debate on public issues and national policy in any country.
• President+ two Houses (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha)
• The Prime Minister must have the support of

Two Chambers or Houses-

• One House is usually directly elected by the people and exercises the real power on behalf of the people.
• The second House is usually elected indirectly and performs some special functions.
• The most common work for the second House is to look after the interests of various states, regions or federal units.
• In our country, the Parliament consists of two Houses.
• The two Houses are known as the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and the House of the People (Lok Sabha).
• The President of India is a part of the Parliament, although she is not a member of either House.
• That is why all laws made in the Houses come into force only after they receive the assent of the President.
• Our Constitution does give the Rajya Sabha some special powers over the states.

But on most matters, the Lok Sabha exercises supreme power-

1. Any ordinary law needs to be passed by both the Houses. But if there is a difference between the two Houses, the final decision is taken in a joint session in which members of both the Houses sit together. Because of the larger number of members, the view of the Lok Sabha is likely to prevail in such a meeting.
2. Lok Sabha exercises more powers in money matters. Once the Lok Sabha passes the budget of the government or any other money related law, the Rajya Sabha cannot reject it. The Rajya Sabha can only delay it by 14 days or suggest changes in it. The Lok Sabha may or may not accept these changes.
3. Most importantly, the Lok Sabha controls the Council of Ministers.

Only a person who enjoys the support of the majority of the members in the Lok Sabha is appointed the Prime Minister.

If the majority of the Lok Sabha members say they have ‘no confidence’ in the Council of Ministers, all ministers including the Prime Minister, have to quit. The Rajya Sabha does not have this power

Political and Permanent Executive

• In a democratic country, two categories make up the executive.
• One that is elected by the people for a specific period is called the political executive.
• Political leaders who take the big decisions fall in this category.
• In the second category, people are appointed on a long-term basis.  This is called the permanent executive or civil services.
• Persons working in civil services are called civil servants. They remain in office even when the ruling party changes.
• These officers work under political executive and assist them in carrying out the day-to-day administration.

Prime Minister and Council of Ministers

• The President appoints the Prime Minister.
• But the President cannot appoint anyone she likes.
• The President appoints the leader of the majority party or the coalition of parties that commands a majority in the Lok Sabha, as Prime Minister.
• In case no single party or alliance gets a majority, the President appoints the person most likely to secure a majority support.
• The Prime Minister does not have a fixed tenure.
• He continues in power so long as he remains the leader of the majority party or coalition.
• After the appointment of the Prime Minister, the President appoints other ministers on the advice of the Prime Minister.
• The Ministers are usually from the party or the coalition that has the majority in the Lok Sabha.
• The Prime Minister is free to choose ministers, as long as they are members of Parliament.
• Sometimes, a person who is not a Member of Parliament can also become a minister.
• But such a person has to get elected to one of the Houses of the Parliament within six months of appointment as minister.

Council of Ministers-

• Council of Ministers is the official name for the body that includes all the Ministers.
• It usually has 60 to 80 Ministers of different ranks.
• Cabinet Ministers are usually top-level leaders of the ruling party or parties who are in charge of the major ministries.
• Usually the Cabinet Ministers meet to take decisions in the name of the Council of Ministers.
• Cabinet is thus the inner ring of the Council of Ministers.
• It comprises about 20 ministers.
• Ministers of State with independent charge are usually in-charge of smaller Ministries.
• They participate in the Cabinet meetings only when specially invited.
• Ministers of State are attached to and required to assist Cabinet Ministers.
• Every ministry has secretaries, who are civil servants.
• The secretaries provide the necessary background information to the ministers to take decisions.
• The Cabinet as a team is assisted by the Cabinet Secretariat.
• This includes many senior civil servants who try to coordinate the working of different ministries.

Powers of the Prime Minister

• He chairs Cabinet meetings.
• He coordinates the work of different Departments.
• His decisions are final in case disagreements arise between Departments.
• He exercises general supervision of different ministries.
• All ministers work under his leadership.
• The Prime Minister distributes and redistributes work to the ministers.
• He also has the power to dismiss ministers.
• When the Prime Minister quits, the entire ministry quits.
• In recent years the rise of coalition politics has imposed certain constraints on the power of the Prime Minister.
• The Prime Minister of a coalition government cannot take decisions as he likes.
• He has to accommodate different groups and factions in his party as well as among alliance partners.
• He also has to heed to the views and positions of the coalition partners and other parties, on whose support the survival of the government depends.

The President

• While the Prime Minister is the head of the government, the President is the head of the State.
• The President supervises the overall functioning of all the political institutions in the country so that they operate in harmony to achieve the objectives of the State.
• The President is not elected directly by the people.
• The elected Members of Parliament (MPs) and the elected Members of the Legislative Assemblies (MLAs) elect her.
• All governmental activities take place in the name of the President.
• All laws and major policy decisions of the government are issued in her name.
• All major appointments are made in the name of the President.
• These include the appointment of the Chief Justice of India, the Judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts of the states, the Governors of the states, the Election Commissioners, ambassadors to other countries, etc.
• All international treaties and agreements are made in the name of the President.
• The President is the supreme commander of the defence forces of India.
• President exercises all these powers only on the advice of the Council of Ministers.
• The President can ask the Council of Ministers to reconsider its advice.
• But if the same advice is given again, she is bound to act according to it.
• Similarly, a bill passed by the Parliament becomes a law only after the President gives assent to it.
• If the President wants, she can delay this for some time and send the bill back to the Parliament for reconsideration.
• But if the Parliament passes the bill again, she has to sign it.

THE JUDICIARY

• All the courts at different levels in a country put together are called the judiciary.
• The Indian judiciary consists of a Supreme Court for the entire nation, High Courts in the states, District Courts and the courts at local level. India has an integrated judiciary.
• It means the Supreme Court controls the judicial administration in the country. Its decisions are binding on all other courts of the country.

It can take up any dispute

1. Between citizens of the country;
2. Between citizens and government;
3. Between two or more state governments; and
4. Between governments at the union and state level.
5. It is the highest court of appeal in civil and criminal cases.
6. It can hear appeals against the decisions of the High Courts.

Independence of the judiciary

• Means that it is not under the control of the legislature or the executive.
• The judges do not act on the direction of the government or according to the wishes of the party in power.
• The judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts are appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister and in consultation with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
• In practice it now means that the senior judges of the Supreme Court select the new judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts.
• There is very little scope for interference by the political executive. The senior most judge of the Supreme Court is usually appointed the Chief Justice.
• Once a person is appointed as judge of the Supreme Court or the High Court it is nearly impossible to remove him or her from that position.
• It is as difficult as removing the President of India.
• A judge can be removed only by an impeachment motion passed separately by two-thirds members of the two Houses of the Parliament.
• The Supreme Court and the High Courts have the power to interpret the Constitution of the country.
• They can declare invalid any law of the legislature or the actions of the executive, whether at the Union level or at the state level, if they find such a law or action is against the Constitution.
• Thus they can determine the Constitutional validity of any legislation or action of the executive in the country, when it is challenged before them.
• This is known as the judicial review.
• The Supreme Court of India has also ruled that the core or basic principles of the Constitution cannot be changed by the Parliament.
• The powers and the independence of the Indian judiciary allow it to act as the guardian of the Fundamental Rights.
• Anyone can approach the courts if public interest is hurt by the actions of government.
• This is called public interest litigation.
• The courts intervene to prevent the misuse of the government’s power to make decisions.
• They check malpractices on the part of public officials.
• That is why the judiciary enjoys a high level of confidence among the people.

CHAPTER 6
DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS

What are rights?

• Rights are claims of a person over other fellow beings, over the society and over the government.
• They should be such that can be made available to others in an equal measure.
• Thus, a right comes with an obligation to respect other rights.

Why do we need rights in a democracy?

• Rights are necessary for the very sustenance of a democracy.
• In a democracy every citizen has to have the right to vote and the right to be elected to government.
• For democratic elections to take place, it is necessary that citizens should have the right to express their opinion, form political parties and take part in political activities.
• Rights protect minorities from the oppression of majority. They ensure that the majority cannot do whatever it likes.
• Rights are guarantees which can be used when things go wrong.
• Things may go wrong when some citizens may wish to take away the rights of others.
• This usually happens when those in majority want to dominate those in minority.
• The government should protect the citizens’ rights in such a situation.
• But sometimes elected governments may not protect or may even attack the rights of their own citizens.
• That is why some rights need to be placed higher than the government, so that the government cannot violate them.
• In most democracies the basic rights of the citizen are written down in the constitution.

Amnesty International,

 an international human rights organisation

RIGHTS IN THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION

Some rights which are fundamental to our life are given a special status. They are called Fundamental Rights.

Right to Equality

• The Constitution says that the government shall not deny to any person in India equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws.
• It means that the laws apply in the same manner to all, regardless of a person’s status. This is called the rule of law.
• Rule of law is the foundation of any democracy. It means that no person is above the law.
• There cannot be any distinction between a political leader, government official and an ordinary citizen.

Right to Freedom

• Freedom means absence of constraints.
• In practical life it means absence of interference in our affairs by others – be it other individuals or the government.

Under the Indian Constitution all citizens have the right to

1. Freedom of speech and expression
2. Assembly in a peaceful manner
3. Form associations and unions
4. Move freely throughout the country
5. Reside in any part of the country, and
6. Practice any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business.

• Freedom is not unlimited licence to do what one wants.
• Accordingly, the government can impose certain reasonable restrictions on our freedoms in the larger interests of the society.
• The Constitution says that no person can be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law.
• It means that no person can be killed unless the court has ordered a death sentence.
• It also means that a government or police officer cannot arrest or detain any citizen unless he has proper legal justification.

Even when they do, they have to follow some procedures:

• A person who is arrested and detained in custody will have to be informed of the reasons for such arrest and detention.
• A person who is arrested and detained shall be produced before the nearest magistrate within a period of 24 hours of arrest.
• Such a person has the right to consult a lawyer or engage a lawyer for his defence.
• Freedom of speech and expression is one of the essential features of any democracy.
• Our ideas and personality develop only when we are able to freely communicate with others.
• You may think differently from others.
• Even if a hundred people think in one way, you should have the freedom to think differently and express your views accordingly.
• You may disagree with a policy of government or activities of an association.
• You are free to criticise the government or the activities of the association in your conversations with parents, friends and relatives.
• You may publicise your views through a pamphlet, magazine or newspaper.
• You can do it through paintings, poetry or songs.
• However, you cannot use this freedom to instigate violence against others.
• You cannot use it to incite people to rebel against government.
• Neither can you use it to defame others by saying false and mean things that cause damage to a person’s reputation.
• Citizens have the freedom to hold meetings, processions, rallies and demonstrations on any issue.
• They may want to discuss a problem, exchange ideas, mobilise public support to a cause, or seek votes for a candidate or party in an election.
• But such meetings have to be peaceful. They should not lead to public disorder or breach of peace in society. Those who participate in these activities and meetings should not carry weapons with them.
• Citizens also can form associations.
• For example workers in a factory can form a workers’ union to promote their interests.
• Some people in a town may come together to form an association to campaign against corruption or pollution.
• We are free to reside and settle in any party of the territory of India.
• People from deprived castes cannot be kept to their traditional occupations.

Right against Exploitation

• The Constitution mentions three specific evils and declares these illegal.
• First, the Constitution prohibits ‘traffic in human beings’.
• Traffic here means selling and buying of human beings, usually women, for immoral purposes.
• Second, our Constitution also prohibits forced labour or begar in any form.
• Begar is a practice where the worker is forced to render service to the ‘master’ free of charge or at a nominal remuneration.
• When this practice takes place on a life-long basis, it is called the practice of bonded labour.
• Finally, the Constitution also prohibits child labour.
• No one can employ a child below the age of fourteen to work in any factory or mine or in any other hazardous work, such as railways and ports.

Right to Freedom of Religion

• Right to freedom includes right to freedom of religion as well.
• The state has to be neutral and impartial in dealing with all religions.
• Every religious group or sect is free to manage its religious affairs.
• Of course, a person is free to change religion on his or her own will.

Some reasonable restrictions are there-

• For example, one cannot sacrifice animals or human beings as offerings to supernatural forces or gods.
• Religious practices which treat women as inferior or those that infringe women’s freedom are not allowed.
• For example, one cannot force a widowed woman to shave head or wear white clothes.
• Government cannot compel any person to pay any taxes for the promotion or maintenance of any particular religion or religious institution.
• There shall be no religious instruction in the government educational institutions.

Constitution specifies the cultural and educational rights of the minorities:

• Any section of citizens with a distinct language or culture has a right to conserve it.
• Admission to any educational institution maintained by government or receiving government aid cannot be denied to any citizen on the ground of religion or language.
• All minorities have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.
• Here minority does not mean only religious minority at the national level.
• In some places people speaking a particular language are in majority; people speaking a different language are in a minority.

How can we secure these rights?

• FR-- enforceable.
• We have a right to seek the enforcement of the above mentioned rights. This is called the Right to Constitutional Remedies.
• This itself is a Fundamental Right.
• This right makes other rights effective.
• It is possible that sometimes our rights may be violated by fellow citizens, private bodies or by the government. When any of our rights are violated we can seek remedy through courts.
• If it is a Fundamental Right we can directly approach the Supreme Court or the High Court of a state.
• That is why Dr. Ambedkar called the Right to Constitutional Remedies, ‘the heart and soul’ of our Constitution.

EXPANDING SCOPE OF RIGHTS

• Parliament has enacted a law giving the right to information to the citizens.
• This Act was made under the Fundamental Right to freedom of thought and expression.
• We have a right to seek information from government offices.
• Recently the Supreme Court has expanded the meaning of the right to life to include the right to food.
• Also, rights are not limited only to Fundamental Rights as enumerated in the Constitution.
• Constitution provides many more rights, which may not be Fundamental Rights.
• For example the right to property is not a Fundamental Right but it is a constitutional right.
• Right to vote in elections is an important constitutional right.

You have read in Chapter Five that the Government of India has provided reservations for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes.  Various governments have different schemes for giving preference to women, poor or physically handicapped in some kinds of jobs.  Are these reservations against the right to equality?

• They are not. For equality does not mean giving everyone the same treatment, no matter what they need.
• Equality means giving everyone an equal opportunity to achieve whatever one is capable of.
• Sometimes it is necessary to give special treatment to someone in order to ensure equal opportunity.
• This is what job reservations do.
• Just to clarify this, the Constitution says that reservations of this kind are not a violation of the Right to Equality.
• The principle of non-discrimination extends to social life as well.
• The Constitution mentions one extreme form of social discrimination, the practice of untouchability, and clearly directs the government to put an end to it.
• The practice of untouchability has been forbidden in any form.
• Untouchability here does not only mean refusal to touch people belonging to certain castes.
• It refers to any belief or social practice which looks down upon people on account of their birth with certain caste labels.
• Such practice denies them interaction with others or access to public places as equal citizens.
• So the Constitution made untouchability a punishable offence.

National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)

• Set up by law in 1993.
• The Commission is appointed by the President and includes retired judges, officers and eminent citizens.
• Focuses on helping the victims secure their human rights.
• These include all the rights granted to the citizens by the Constitution.
• For NHRC human rights also include the rights mentioned in the UN sponsored international treaties that India has signed
• The NHRC cannot by itself punish the guilty. That is the responsibility of courts.
• It also inquiries into any case of abetment of such violation or negligence in controlling it by any government officer and takes other general steps to promote human rights in the country.
• The Commission presents its findings and recommendations to the government or intervene in the court on behalf of the victims.
• It has wide ranging powers to carry out its inquiry.
• Like any court it can summon witnesses, question any government official, demand any official paper, visit any prison for inspection or send its own team for on-the-spot inquiry.

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

• This international covenant recognises many rights that are not directly a part of the Fundamental Rights in the Indian Constitution.
• This has not yet become an international treaty.
• But human right activists all over the world see this as a standard of human rights.

These include:

1. right to work: opportunity to everyone to earn livelihood by working
2. right to safe and healthy working conditions, fair wages that can provide decent standard of living for the workers and their families
3. right to adequate standard of living including adequate food, clothing and housing
4. right to social security and insurance
5. right to health: medical care during illness, special care for women during childbirth and prevention of epidemics
6. Right to education: free and compulsory primary education, equal access to higher education.

Thus the scope of rights has been expanding and new rights are evolving over time.

The Constitution of South Africa guarantees its citizens several kinds of new rights:

1. Right to privacy, so that citizens or their home cannot be searched, their phones cannot be tapped, their communication cannot be opened.
2. Right to an environment that is not harmful to their health or wellbeing;
3. Right to have access to adequate housing.
4. Right to have access to health care services, sufficient food and water; no one may be refused emergency medical treatment.